Secrets
by TheFallenArchangel
Summary: "..And the baby.." He asked, and she told him no. And he left, not by choice, but he left. He didn't know that she'd been lying, flat out lying in fact. She didn't think he'd ever find out, but he did. It only took him 20 years, but he did. Set after Doomsday. AUish I think? Warnings: Possible Language, blood, and violence in later chapters.
1. The Lie

**A/N: Hey, so after much, much convincing from my friend, I finally watched Dr. Who. I started with the 9th Doctor, and to be honest I shipped 9/Rose from the very beginning. Then he became 10, and then I shipped them. I actually started crying during Doomsday. Then there was the whole '..And the baby.' part. And then the Doctor went all 'you're not..?' Well how the hell could she be if he hadn't had sex with him ever? He shouldn't have even thought it was possible, but he asked. So that made me think... what if they had, and what if she was lying? And then I got the idea for this. I'm sorry for any factual errors or whatnot, but I haven't watched passed 03.04 and this is my first Doctor Who fanfic. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I promise. **

**Warnings: Language, blood, and violence in later chapters. **

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"You've still got Mr. Mickey, then?" It was his attempt at being humorous, and it didn't really work, especially after what came next.

"There's five of us now- Mum, Dad, Mickey..and the baby." Rose's voice was quiet, shaky, and if The Doctor was correct, sounded a little bit afraid behind the tears that threatened to spill over. His mind raced a mile a minute as she took in the words that were just said. It wasn't possible, right? I mean, of course he knew it was possible and all, but it had only been once, the odds had seemed so astronomical. He was thinking so quickly he didn't even pause to think of the irony of him using that word. His thoughts were conflicting as he struggled through what he was certain he had just heard. If what he thought was right, and Rose was.. his heart, or hearts if you want to be specific, soared for a moment, then crashed and began to burn. He was here to say goodbye, that he was leaving forever. He realized seconds had passed and he opened his mouth, the words were confused. He had to be sure, even if he wouldn't or couldn't be there.

"You're not...?" The simple thought of Rose having their child, and him never, ever being able to be there for any of it.. added to the agony of the heartbreak that had come with him having to say goodbye. It easily compared with the fear he had felt when he thought Rose would fall into the void.

"No.. It's Mum.." He thought she said something else, but he couldn't get passed the conflicted emotions quick enough to hear. On one hand, he was almost disappointed, then on the other, he was happier, only sightly, that he wouldn't be abandoning not only Rose, but a child as well. Rose's words blurred together for a moment, as he struggled to think past his emotions and listen to what may very well be the last thing he ever heard her say.

"And what about you? Are you...?" He wanted to know what would become of her, if she would be alright, she had to be... But he had to be sure.

"Yeah, I'm - I'm back working in the shop." He tried to smile, thinking back to the fact that he had met her while she worked in a shop, but then again, he wondered why she'd go back. But it was good, either way. She'd have a regular, normal life.

"Oh, good for you." Was all he could manage truthfully.

"Shut up." Well needless to say that surprised him. "No, I'm not. There's still a Torchwood on this planet that's open for business." Oh the irony. It was Torchwood that had taken her from him, yet it was Torchwood to which she would spend her future. "Think I know a thing or two about aliens.."

"Rose Tyler, defender of Earth." He said it with a laugh. He just wanted to see her smile, just once more. It didn't work, so he told her the truth. "You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day, and you've gone missing. You're on a list of the dead." Okay, maybe it wasn't the whole truth. He had been forced with the decision to put her on the list of deceased. If only to protect her. He tried again to make her smile, to help her realize that being in this world, would be better for her than being with him ever was. "Now here you are, living life day after day.." Maybe not for him, but for her. "The one adventure I can never have.." He watched a tear slide down her face as she asked the question he didn't want to answer.

"Am I ever going to see you again?" He answered honestly.

"You can't."

"What are you gonna do?" To be entirely honest, he was wondering that himself. He couldn't picture going anywhere without her, despite the fact that he'd been doing it for 900 years before he even met her. He couldn't tell the truth, that he had no god-damned idea.

"Oh I've got the TARDIS. Same old life, last of the Time Lords.

"On your own?" She asked him, tears falling freely now, him fighting them back. He just nodded.

"I l- I love you.." The words he had been so desperate and longing to hear from her, but had been far to afraid to say them himself shot right through his consciousness. He gave a weak smile, or what he assumed was one although almost no change of expression could be seen.

"Quite right, too. And I suppose... if it's my last chance to say it.. Rose Tyler.." Before he could finish the thought, he was back in the TARDIS, alone._ I love you.. _The words echoed painfully in his head as tears slid down his face and buried it in his hands. She'd never get to hear those words. Ever. He pulled the last image he had of her in his head, wanting to hold onto it for as long as he could. He remembered her face as he started the phrase he'd never be able to finish. His breath came more ragged, becoming harsh and uneven. He'd never see her again, ever. Ever.

At this thought, his mind went back. He remembered reaching out, grabbing her hand and telling her to run, that first night. He remembered the agony of thinking that the Dalek had killed her in Utah. He remembered the being in World War II, dancing with her in the soft light, not even realizing when they were removed, then later in the TARDIS. He remembered seeing her as an infant, just before seeing her comfort her dying father. He remembered seeing her doing the impossible, killing a Dalek leader and the thousands of others in mere seconds. He remembered his lips against hers as he essentially killed himself.

He remembered her fingers linking with his in his new body for the first time. He remembered the hug at New Earth, and laying on the blanket for hours. He remembered laughing with her. He remembered constantly telling people that he was not her boyfriend. He remembered one night, the one night that had finally given in and made love. He refused to simply call it sex, because it had been something that was not indescribable in any way other that pure love. But he remembered them both acting like it hadn't happened the morning after. He remembered screaming her name as it appeared for a moment she would be sucked into the void, lost to him forever. Funny how he still got the same result.

And most recently he remembered saying goodbye, and for a moment thinking that she would have his child. Yes it had only been a moment, and she wouldn't, she had told him so, but for a moment he had believed that she really would never forget him, and that there would always be something to show just how much they had truly, honestly loved each other.

He wished he would remember less.

Sure he could go back in the past, and watch all their adventures again, this time as a spectator. Hell, if he wanted too he could go back to the day she was born and watch her grow up. It's not like he'd be wasting his life, like he really had to set limits anyway. It would only be twenty years. But he knew if he were to try, it would only make it worse. So the good Doctor did what he always did. He moved on, tried to forget.

Tried is a very subjective word. He couldn't. He'd never be able to forget Rose Tyler. Ever. Almost anything reminded him of her, they had shared so much in the span of a year. The mention of certain dates was like shoving a spear through his chest. Charles Dickens' stories became a plague to him, as did Christmas itself, as they evoked memories of a Christmas night long ago, yet not so long ago. Being on Earth was almost enough to make him break down for a long time. Every inch of the TARDIS held memories. Everything hurt.

The memory he most regretted and loved was one that had only seven words. He remembered hanging out of the TARDIS, looking at Rose and a slumped over Mickey as he spoke ten words that would change everything. "Unless, uh, I don't know...You could come with me."

You could put everything that hurt him together, and it still wouldn't add up to the agony he felt every year on the day that he had been forced to say goodbye. He wouldn't tell anybody, but he still kept pictures in his jacket pocket. He brushed his fingers across them every time he reached for the psychic paper, which seemed to be a lot. There were three of him. One of her, he had taken it when she hadn't noticed, one of her with him in his former body and Jack. He liked that one, mainly because it was taken shortly before he changed, before all hell with the Dalek's broke loose. And he had one of her with himself in his current body, taken by Jackie when they weren't looking.

He of course, continued travelling, and his visits to Earth were frequent and few, even less than used to be, for lack of needing to and because he didn't want to. He saw all the humans that had lived through the war, and he couldn't help the bitter feelings that arose. Why couldn't it have been that man over there who ended up in another world, or that girl over there? He knew it was through no fault of anybodies, except his and Rose's, but he couldn't help it. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right. Rose should be here, with him, always. Perhaps it was selfish, but he didn't care.

Time went on, and the Time Lord tried, he really did, to move on, to do the best he could for everyone. He saved worlds, helped the innocent, and did what Rose had said she loved him for. When fleeing a dangerous situation, he sometimes would reach out for her hand, like he had so many times before. It hurt him to do this, but he still allowed it to happen. It made him wonder, if she was ever scared, did she reach out for his hand? Did she long for the feeling of his fingers against hers as he did? Did she ever long for a hug, when everything seemed to be falling apart? He scoffed at that. She was safe now. She was safe now that she wasn't with him. Her world didn't have to fall apart, he wasn't in it.

Sometimes he could picture it. What if Rose had been pregnant? What if she had been safe in her proper galaxy? What if he had overcome his own fear and told her that he loved her, that he needed her, how much she meant to him. If he tried hard enough, he could see it, a house, maybe on Earth, although sometimes he pictured it elsewhere, maybe a pet, and a daughter, one with Rose's hair and his own brown eyes. No matter how much he imagined though, it never made it true. It was never true. And he couldn't make it true.

He continued to travel, although now it wasn't so much as enjoyment as it used to be. The only thing he could think was that he wished Rose could've seen that, or how Rose would have handled this or that situation. And sometimes, he'd think that he'd be moving on. He'd think it was getting better, getting easier. Then something would come and slap him right across the face again, and he'd find himself struggling to breathe, struggling to think.

Now despite all of this, he couldn't even imagine what would happen next.

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**I really hope that wasn't too bad. Thank you for reading, and reviews are much appreciated. **


	2. Stranger

**A/N: So I got a little bit obsessed with this story and finished another chapter last night. I proofread it as soon as I actually could think straight. I just want to give a little bit of thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter, it was oddly inspiring. Being this was my first Dr. Who fanfic, I didn't think anyone would read it. You guys proved me wrong. :D So thanks. **

**Disclaimer: *waves hand in the air* I'm nothing but a poor little Earthling. I have no rights to anything you don't recognize. **

**Warnings: Language, blood, gore, and violence in later chapters, as well as Doctor angstyness. **

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The Doctor stood at the door of the TARDIS for several minutes before he could muster up the power of will to even think about reaching for the handle and turning it. He argued with himself fiercely, debating and persuading himself to step forward, to enter the place he wanted to leave and never return to. He sighed in reluctance, before slowly extending his arm and closing his fingers around the handle and stepping out. As his feet hit the soft grass that molded around his shoes, he felt a dizzying feeling. To just about anybody else, the perfect and unblemished vegetation of the small meadow in which the TARDIS had settled would be beautiful, to him it was like being punched in the stomach.

He stood there, in a daze as he looked at what, in about two thousand years, would become New Earth. It felt like every single bit oxygen that was leaving his lungs as he remembered. He thought of the last time he had been on the planet. He had stepped out, and seconds later arms had flung around his neck and the warm scent he had once associated with Rose had wreathed its way around him. Oh, how he longed for that now, for that feeling of safety and comfort. A sick feeling rose in the pit of his stomach as he felt the uncomfortable prick of tears behind his eyes as he fought the natural urge to double over to relieve the pain.

He gave a sound almost like a groan as he forced himself to remain straight, his back stiffening until he took upon the likeness of a wooden board. He took a small step forward, pulling the sonic screwdriver from his pockets and kneeling, running the instrument across the ground, the neon blue light bathing the growth. He sighed as he looked for any indication that another being had been here, and soon enough he found it. A slight impression, barely noticeable, a footprint just a few feet away from where the TARDIS rested. He sighed again, a small stream of air hissin between his teeth, and stood up. His voice creaking, he called out quietly, and his voice betrayed his reluctance to be here, where the sight of every little thing made him want to break.

"Where are you? Please, I ask of you, show yourself." He wasn't that surprised when he got no answer. He'd been calling out for this person for days, weeks even, and he'd never gotten a response.

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It had all started about a month before the Time Lord had found himself back on New Earth. He had made his way to the TARDIS controls, wearing his typical suit and coat. He pushed his glasses from the bridge of his nose, running his fingers through his messy hair. His eyes were hyperactive and wild, though lacking the fire that had once burned so brightly burned behind them, as he set the course toward a planet from which a near silent signal emanated. It was much like a distress call, although it was more of a request to not be followed. That alone should have set him off. He should have ignored it himself, then programmed the TARDIS to ignore it, yet he didn't do either. He followed it.

In the years since he had lost Rose, he had also lost most of his desire for self preservation. He had become reckless and foolhardy, throwing himself into situations that could turn deadly in an instant without abandon or caution. He was heedless to his own safety, and to him nothing more mattered than doing what Rose would have wanted him to do, even if it was not the way in his physical safety she would have liked it.

He followed the signal halfway across the universe in a trip that had taken the TARDIS nothing but a mere two and a half minutes. The planet was an old planet, very similar to that of Earth, though everything was colored some range of blue, varying from the pale blue grasses to the midnight blue of the water. Had it been a different time, a different age really, the Doctor might have considered it pretty, beautiful even. And even in his numb, broken state he could at the very least admit to its uniqueness. Even the somewhat humanoid residents' skin was tainted pale blue. That's what allowed him to recognize whom he was looking for.

The young man looked perfectly human, he could have gone by unnoticed, he walked with ease, ambling about as if he owned the place. He spoke easily with the natives of the planet, and they seemed to not even notice his abnormalities. He would have gone by, easily and without harassment through the planet, and would have completed whatever it was that he needed to complete, had the Doctor not been looking for him.

The Doctor had spotted him in a park. It reminded him of a child's playground with a large field, but of course it was tainted all shades of blue. The young man had stood midway up a hill, his pale skin and black clothing making him easily stand out in sharp contrast against the azure landscape. The Doctor couldn't get a good look at the figure, mainly because he stood out too, and the second that he got anywhere near close enough, the other male had seen him too, and he was running. The Time Lord had set off running after the stranger, but had lost him in the crowds once he had made it over the crest of the hill. For once, he was truly grateful of his thinking ahead, as moments later the TARDIS key burned painfully against his chest. Thank god he had locked and set trackers on the ship. He set off toward the TARDIS, but there was one thing he hadn't counted on. All the blue.

It had taken him about an hour to locate the TARDIS, hidden in a sea of blue, and by the time he had reestablished a tracker on the craft, he allowed the TARDIS to follow. He was glad that the ship seemed to be traveling toward a specific location. Oh how he wished he had known where it was going, of course he didn't until it was too late. By the time he realized he was heading for New Earth, it was quite frankly too late to stop, despite the fact that he'd rather do anything than return. The planet, once so wondrous and beautiful to him, had become a source of memories that reinforced painful reality.

He knew what awaited outside, and he stayed where he was for a minute. His eyes closed, as he allowed himself to venture back, willing himself to hear words from so long ago. He allowed a tiny sad smile to cross his lips.

_"That's amazing. I'll never get used to this. Never. Different ground beneath my feet, different sky. What's that smell?" Rose looked happy, her bright smile stretched across her face, the one that made him smile just as brilliantly back. It was the smile that almost made him forget all the terrible things he had done. Her eyes were bright, happy._

_"Apple grass." He answered brightly, breathing in the familiar smell._

_"Apple grass?" It was like she didn't believe him. The tone in her voice made him laugh._

_"Yeah, yeah."_

_"It's beautiful. Oh, I love this. Can I just say, traveling with you, I love it." It was all he could do right then to say something else, but he was afraid. Afraid of pushing it too far. He had no idea, no clue, how much he would regret not saying anything. He would regret not moving forward, pressing her lips to hers. He would regret not telling her how much he loved her right there. He just didn't know it yet._

He opened his eyes, blinking back and swallowing his emotions that came with this place. He moved to stand before the doors of the TARDIS, just a few feet away.

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He called out as he began walking, asking again and again, pleading with the man who would not be found to reveal himself. After what seemed like miles of walking, he saw him. He was sitting in the grass of the still untouched planet, his fingers weaving through the long blades while he had his chin tilted upward, his face toward the sky. He seemed relaxed, calm, peaceful. The Doctor cut off mid-call, and watched the man. He still couldn't see his face, only the back of his head, but he could tell he wore a black leather jacket and grey denim pants.

The Doctor wanted to dare closer. He wanted to say something, to try to get answers, but he knew that the younger man would simply start running again, but he had to try something. He edged closer before he finally seemed to hear.

"Please, I don't mean trouble.. just.. tell me who you are.." As expected, as soon as those words left the mouth of the Time Lord, the other was on the run. He lunged to his feet and took off, leaving little regard for the grass he had so tenderly caressed a moment before. He was headed for an area where grass faded into rock and bushes turned into ragged spires. As the younger ran into the colder, rocky area, he fell, although seconds later he was back up on his feet and running.

The Doctor got closer and stopped when he saw a shine out of the corner of his eye. On the ground, was the blood from the younger being, and it drew his attention. He stared at the slate below his feet. The blood looked similar to human blood, with a few obvious differences. It was far too dark. If a human were to have blood this dark, they would have to have so much iron in their blood he'd be able to smell it. He smelled nothing, therefore the possibility of this man being human was tossed out the window with clarity. His blood was also way too thick to possibly be that of a human. He bent down to look closely at the ground, observing the way the blood flowed to lower ground.

The dark scarlet liquid swirled in celestial patters, slipping along the jagged surface of the rock's surface. The Doctor blinked rapidly. The streams of red liquid were forming a shape of some sort, and as he blinked, it took a more precise shape. He closed his eyes and counted to thirty. He opened them again and looked down at the rock. Flowing, the blood had created two words, thick cursive letters spelling out a phrase that struck The Doctor to the core. It made his eyes water and his heart pound.

"Bad Wolf" He whispered hoarsely.

Then there was nothing.

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**Well, here you go. :D Thank you for reading and reviews are much appreciated. I'll see ya next chapter. If you have any ideas, just tell me, I'll see if I can incorporate it. **


	3. The Infirmary

**A/N: Hey guys, if you're still reading, I love you. If you've just started reading, I still love you! Okay, hippie moment over. So this chapter was really difficult for me, I'm not sure why, and I'm not to enthused with how it turned out. I re-watched Doomsday and bawled like a baby. I admit it, so it made me jumpstart on this. In today's chapter, we get a conversation with this stranger, and we find out why he was here in the first place. :D Hope you enjoy. **

***Insert humorous disclaimer here***

**Warning: Cursing, blood, gore, violence, and Doctor Angstyness in later chapters.. probably. **

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When the Doctor awoke, he sat bolt up, banging his head on a lamp in the process. As he rubbed the sore spot near his eye and swung his legs over what he now realized as a bed in an infirmary. It was certainly not the one on the TARDIS. His eyes flicked about as he scanned the room, his mind racing as he drank in every detail. His eyes swept over the white, clean counter tops and stainless steel sink. He noticed there's a bandage over his wrist, but it no longer hurt, if it ever did at all. He heard a bang, and acting on reflex he whirled to see the man he'd been so desperately been seeking for the past weeks.

The 'man' was actually a teenager really, possibly late teens or early twenties. He had short cut hair that was a brown so dark and deep it could easily be mistaken for black, slightly spiked up with a bit of curl at the top of his forehead, and eyes that were the a light shade of brown. He stood slightly shorter than The Doctor, and he was relatively lean, with little visible muscle mass. He was wiping his hands off with a forest green towel, appearing to be ridding them of blood. He winced as he did so, but then tossed the towel aside and reached for a drawer, pulling out rubbing alcohol and pouring it over his own hands. The youth clenched his teeth but other than that made no other motion to express the stinging that flared in his palms. He expertly wrapped his hands in bandages, as if he had done it a million times before. As he taped the last bit of the gauze down, he turned to the Doctor, acknowledging him for the first time.

"Well sir, I will have to give it to ya, most blokes faint when they see a man all bloodied and rugged. You on the other hand freak out at just seeing blood on the ground." He chuckled darkly, letting his now bandaged hands fall limply to his sides. The Doctor continued rubbing his temples in an attempt to quell his headache.

"Could you explain to me what happened?" He asked, not entirely appreciating the snide comment, but at the same time, he had to admit the kid seemed to have a sense of humor. The words from the blood echoed again and again in his mind, shaking him mentally and emotionally.

"Not quite sure. I started running, you started chasing. I fell, cut myself up, and kept running. You took some sort of freakish fascination with my blood and next thing I know you've fallen over in a dead faint and then you kept muttering something bout a wolf." He leaned against the counter, his hands behind his back as he leaned on them. Obviously he hadn't cut himself too bad, because they now seemed to not hurt. There was a slight smugness along his smile.

"What's your name?" The Doctor sighed. At least he'd get some of the information he had been seeking before. The young man seemed to catch onto that, because he laughed, tossing his head back as he did so.

"You're still on about that?" He chuckled, jumping up to sit on the edge of the counter, his legs dangling so his toe-tips brushed against the floor. "You can call me John. It's not my name, but I haven't decided if I trust you yet, but John will work for now."

"Why wouldn't you trust me?" The Doctor sounded genuinely confused as he felt.

"Maybe because when I started running from you, you chased me. I think that warrants me a little bit of distrust." His voice had taken on an aggressive and defensive edge now, and to be honest it made the Doctor ever so wary of him.

"Point taken. Where am I?" New Earth wasn't populated yet, but he wasn't that far from the TARDIS, he could feel it.

"You are in my ship. The infirmary obviously. Banged your head up bad then got sick. It's not like I was going to leave you out there." His tone softened ever so much, revealing a previously hidden kindness. "You regenerated for a bit, think it healed the concussion. You should still be careful though, just in case."

"Yeah, I know.." The Doctor replied half-heartedly with a shrug. "Pardon me if this sounds rude or something but.. what _are _you John? You aren't human, and you aren't any other humanoid species I'm familiar with." He was being serious, but raised his eyebrows when John chuckled.

"I'll be honest, I was waiting for that one. I am human, kind of. Technically I'm a hybrid, although I prefer the term half blood, sounds cooler if you've caught on. Not saying what I'm mixed with though. Still don't trust you." He hadn't hardly moved in all this time.

"Well John, I suppose I should go ahead and get going."

"Seriously? You chase me through three planets, make yourself faint, and quite frankly make me wonder if the lights aren't just on and there's nobody home, and then you're just going to up and leave?" He sounded completely incredulous, even annoyed. The Doctor stood and picked his jacket up from a chair that he had spotted moments ago.

"Sorry, I stick around too long, people tend to get hurt." It was said in a lighthearted voice, but there was an undercurrent of truth and sadness to it. The teenager leaned backwards, supporting a majority of his weight on his elbows now. He raised an eyebrow in something close to a smirk.

"I honestly know exactly how you feel." There was a layer of honesty in his voice that silently proclaimed his truth, that he did, in fact, understand. It was like he was daring The Doctor to deny it.

"Sure." Was all he said as he checked his pockets to reaffirm that everything was in it's proper place. It was, so he turned. "I do have one question though."

"Yes?" John's eyes brightened with interest.

"Why were you on New Earth? It's long before it'll ever be populated, yet there you were, laying in the grass." John stiffened slightly, then squirmed. It was clear he didn't like The Doctor seeing him in such vulnerability. He shifted his weight a few times, moving his eyes from the Time Lord to the ground. "What?" The Doctor probed, either unaware or uncaring of the youth's discomfort.

"I was.. I was trying to think.." His voice shook slightly, whether in fear or embarrassment was lost, but it wasn't enough.

"What about? You don't often pop into other planets to think about things."

"It's just.. I'm supposed to be out here, getting help. We don't have many allies.. but we need help. God do we need help. Trouble is, nobody wants to." He looked up at the Doctor with a look that he recognized; Desperation.

"What do you need help for? Where are you from that there's nobody who will help you?" He sounded shocked. At this point in time, it should be as if every planet had at least one ally, so why would nobody help?

"It's hard to explain." He seemed evasive.

"Then just explain it. You had to have explained it to the leaders of the other planets, so explain it to me." His voice had become a challenge, but he hoped it would work. He smiled internally with a victory as the young man answered.

"Fine, but you're not going to believe it." He sounded doubtful.

"You'd be surprised at the things I'd believe. Go on then."

"Okay, so I was born on Earth.." The Doctor nodded, and the youth continued. "But on a kind of different Earth.. it was.." He took a long deep breath. "It _is _in a parallel universe." He stopped talking, and turned to The Doctor, as if waiting for him to laugh or something. The Doctor just paused, let out a breath, and stared him in the face. "You don't seem surprised... it's just.. sorry I.. I'm not used to that."

"Yeah... I know a bit about parallel universes.. more than I'd like to. But if you're on Earth, what about Torchwood? You must have some version of one."

"I work for Torchwood. We're the ones who have been trying to get it under control. It started off easy enough, there were very few of them, and they were confused and never would surrender so they had to be... Point is they're all over, and so many have been killed, it's only a matter of time before they win and we're all dead."

"Have you tried the Torchwood in this universe?" The Doctor wanted to laugh at this, the way it was said it was as if he were recommending a new shop.

"Well.. I wanted too.. but I saw one of them.. Said his name was Jack. I talked to him for all of five minutes.. it was like.. I don't know.. made my stomach clench up. He's just.. wrong." To his surprise, the Doctor was nodding.

"Yep, I know 'im... and I know how you feel..." There was an incredibly long silence before a jolting realization hit The Doctor like a slap across the face. "Wait a minute.. how did you get here from your universe?" He felt stupid for not asking this the second he found out the youth was from another one. The walls should be strong, intact. He shouldn't have been able to cross over.

"The same way the enemies got in. Sorta. It's a long story, but basically I was shoved into this ship and it took me somewhere, I had no control over it. I opened it and found I was still on Earth, until I realized on a different Earth. I knew about parallels, all of Torchwood does, so I kinda figured it out. Been looking for help ever since." The Doctor didn't say anything for a long time, his mind racing wildly, as his two hearts did. He barely heard what came next. "The walls are getting weaker, and we don't know what's happening. I have no idea how to get back, but I have to try.. but I can't go back without any help.. I just can't! I won't.. I won't condemn them to die.."

"Do you know the name of these enemies?" The Doctor seemed to slowly be returning to himself, pulling himself out of his musings.

"It's just.. according to all the stories there should be none left! It's only been like twenty years so I wouldn't say legends.. but they should be gone.. they never should have gotten out of the void. That's what they all said!" His voice was growing in hysteria now, letting his fear take over.

"Their _name._" The Doctor commanded, his voice rising in volume and silencing the youth, who replied in a grim voice.

"The ones who were alive last time... They said they were called Daleks."

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**Dun. Dun. DUUUN. Hope you enjoyed, and I hope it wasn't too bad. As always, thanks for reading, reviews are always appreciated, and I hope to catch ya next chapter. It'll be fantastic. Until then, Allons-y!**


	4. Revealing

**A/N: Hey, I know this isn't too great, and I may rewrite it later (I don't like the way I did this, I just couldn't think of anything else.) I'd like to thank anyone who stuck with it this long. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. I swear. Pinky promise. **

**Warnings: Just read the warnings on the other chapters *is lazeh***

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It took a long second for The Doctor to force himself to breathe. His lungs simply wouldn't accept the oxygen he found himself needing more and more, as shock dominated his system. About fifty seconds later, he finally inhaled, sweet relief washing over the burning in his lungs. He turned to John, his eyes flashing with something deadly as he stared into the wide orbs of the younger.

"You need to tell me everything you can about your world, and I mean everything. Leave nothing out. Start with your job, the attacks, and how you got here." He took a step closer, but other than that made no other motion, his hands hanging limply at his side while his eyes betrayed his overly eager mind. His intellect was warring with his morality as he waited for the half blood to start his tale.

"I don't.. I don't know where to start.." John's voice shook. Perhaps this is why instinct told him to flee The Doctor. Perhaps his instincts were trying to keep him safe from a volatile Time Lord, whatever the reason, the man was starting to freak him out. He seemed to have knowledge he shouldn't, and all of his Torchwood training screamed at him that knowing things you shouldnt was dangerous.

"Start at the beginning!" The Doctor exclaimed, as if it were perfectly obvious what he had been asking. "How did this all start?" The younger of the two was quiet for a long moment. "Well?!"

"Sorry I just... Working at Torchwood was just kind of.. expected from me. My mum works there, my gramps, my gram even works there sometimes, as well as my uncle. I got a job as soon as I turned 17. I spent most of my time in cataloging but a year ago they moved me to enforcement, sent me out with my team whenever they thought there was a disturbance of.. alien origin. I was the youngest.. Didn't get many good calls to be honest.. but then about a two months ago the first one appeared. It was in a small town not too far out of Cardiff. That's when the first one came through." He paused to take a breath, his pupils contracting as he remembered the fear.

"What was it?" He asked, his voice a mixture of eagerness and horror as he tried to prompt another answer.

"I didn't know at first.. it was metal.. and it kept making this noise that was.. It was just... I don't think I'll ever forget the noise that thing made. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before. Just the sound was driving our men mad, and we couldn't.." He swallowed. "We couldn't get it to surrender. We had to kill it.. The entire time it made that noise.. It was.. It was.." He didn't finish, The Doctor did for him.

"It was screaming. There's a reason most species call the void hell." There was an air of something close to pity in his voice, but not nearly enough for John to think that The Doctor actually felt bad about the death of the Dalek.

"Yeah.." he breathed. Screaming just about summed it up, so he recollected his thoughts and returned himself to his recounting. "It happened a few more times, but it wasn't a big deal, we'd handled worse.. They never would surrender.. they would just scream until the end." He shook his head as he fought with his conscious and instincts as to whether or not he should continue his story. "They didn't tell us much, only that they must be the the few survivors from The Battle. That's all they would ever call it.. The Battle. But they still weren't hurting anyone. They had yet to cause any real damage we'd simply dispose of them and move on." He paused, shooting a look towards The Doctor. "I know it seems cruel.. but they were mad.. killing them was for their own good."

"You don't need to explain that to me.." was all he said in reply.

"We thought it was almost over, but then they started coming in groups."

"Groups?" The Doctor wasn't sure whether he should sound incredulous or horrified.

"Yeah... and when they started coming in bigger and bigger groups, they weren't as mad.. well prettymuch anyways. They still wouldn't surrender.. but we learned what they were really capable of." He took in a long, steadying breath. "Jared came in hungover one day.. it was nothing major, he had just had too many the night before. And I know I should've reported him or asked him to go home.. but I thought.. it was only a Dalek run.. it would just scream while we shot it down.. worst case scenario he hits a lamppost.." He let out a shaky laugh. "I was so stupid.." He looked toward the ground, the firm ground, and forced himself to continue talking. "They didn't have any shields up.. but Jared wasn't moving fast enough.. we heard it scream something.. a word so distorted.. but it was the first time we'd heard one speak. Then there was a flash of green light.. and Jared's dead. And.. we didn't even notice.. we had heard it speak.. it had only been one word.."

"Exterminate." The Doctor said it at the same time John did, and he stared at the Time Lord yet said nothing else for a long moment. Niether did.

"Well we killed it.. and we kept killing them.. even as they were coming in groups of twos and threes ever day.. sometimes every few hours. They had no shields.. they were completely vulnerable.. yet they still fought us. It was like they simply refused to surrender."

"Well that's what Dalek are for. They've been drained of every emotion except hate and fury. Perfect warriors doomed to battle until death.. Too proud to surrender. Even when losing their shields.. still fighting to their own destruction." He sighed, before looking to John, who stared at him with wide eyes, curious and afraid. "Go on then.. you still haven't explained how you got here."

"Well.. we kept fighting them, until they were doing major damage before we could destroy them. We'd been trying to find a way to cross the dimensions, because my erm.. my boss said that there was something much bigger going on. She said we had to get help, proper, serious help, or we'd all die."

"Your boss seems like a smart woman." He commented with a dark chuckle. "Most wouldn't have the good sense to go for help over something trivial, but seriously, how did you get here?"

"Yeah well.. there was a TARDIS, a prettymuch destroyed one.. it had been in archives for longer than anyone could remember.. they had been trying to replicate the technology as well as we could for as long as I had been alive, longer really." His face split into a wide smile. "And it worked. We even got the bigger on the inside part. But it couldn't actually travel of course, the Time Vortex.. we had just about given up on finding any alternate source of power when it happened. I was downstairs looking for my uncle, and there was this brilliant flash of light. It was so beautiful.. amazing.. I had never seen, and probably never will see, anything that beautiful and deadly."

"Wait.. you _stared _into Time Vortex?"

"Well.. stared is a relative word.. My eyes closed after a half second, it was so bright.. but I felt this surge of power and instinct. Ever since then the machine made more sense to me than to the people who had been working on it for decades. And when I say machine, I say it loosely. I feel the consciousness in the back of my head, right now as we speak, you should too, Time Lord." The Doctor coughed, choking for a second before moving his eyes to the teenager.

"You know what I am then?" He asked, shock radiating through his voice.

"Well you're regenerating, you know what a Time Vortex is, oh and lets not forget the whole two hearts thing." The boys' voice was laced with a playful brand of sarcasm as he eyed his counterpart.

"Guess that kind of gives it away.." he said, the air hissing between his teeth for a second before his eyes reverted to the youth. "You know what a Time Lord is? I mean.. there shouldn't be any in your universe.."

"Oh there aren't." John said it like it was a reassurance, a grim one, but a reassurance nonetheless. "But there are stories. The man who saved us from the Cybermen and kept the universe from falling apart because we didn't listen to him about our travelling. Not that much is known... but the basics are there. There's supposed to be only one left, he's supposed to travel in a blue box, always with a companion. He has two heartbeats and would do anything to save anyone. Fairy tales to most. I think he was an ordinary man myself, just brave." He shrugged it off noncommittal, but he still felt The Doctor's eyes on him. "Relax. I don't think you are our legendary hero, you've got no companion, and you pass out at the sight of blood, oh and lets not forget, the stories of the time travelling man are fairy tales. You are not our legend, and I wouldn't ask you for help or try to guilt you into helping us."

"Good. Thats exactly why I am going to help you." The Doctor's voice rang with a finality, his mind set on a plan of action.

The Doctor fell into silence as he thought about everything, working out a plan of action and surveying the timelines. John made no move to interrupt or move him, which was good because he was so focused that when a high pitched ringing rang out he seemed to jump a foot in the air.

"Sorry.. if I stay in the same time era that I live in, they can call me." John explained as he pressed his cell phone to his ear. "Yes?... Sorry, Yes ma'am... No, I haven't been able to get anyone really... Well there's one man, a Time Lord... yeah he said he'd help... Okay... See you then... Mhmm you too... bye." The call ended. He looked toward The Doctor. "I told you my name, what's yours?" The Doctor's mouth opened to say the usual alibi, John Smith, but with the younger man already claiming the name John, he'd have to come up with something else.

"Uhhm... David. Yeah, David will work for now. I'll tell you my name when you tell me yours. Since you said you'll see your boss or whoever it was calling, I'll assume we're leaving soon?"

"Sounds like a deal, and yeah. Just gotta let 'er rest. He patted a hand on the cool countertop. She's been out of commission for so long, she's tired." It made The Doctor smile at the way he spoke of his TARDIS, as a living thing rather than an object like some did.

"Well.." The Doctor stretched the word as he leaned against the wall. "I've got to link the TARDIS to here, I'm not going to leave her here while I'm off in another universe. That cannot end well." John nodded in understanding, then looked a little bit sheepish as he asked, rather childishly,

"Can I come? I've never seen another machine like this one."

"Sure. Just lead the way out. I know from experience never go wandering off alone in a TARDIS."

"Seriously?"

"Nope." He chuckled as he said it, popping the 'p' as he did so. As they made their way out of the unfamiliar pathways, and past a strikingly familiar control room, they made it outside. Curious, The Doctor turned and looked at the ship, and was surprised. Obviously the chameleon circuit was working here, because the ship he had just left looked like a boulder of some sort.

"Well.. Allons-y!" They walked toward where the Time Lord knew the TARDIS was, and both had to admit the area was brilliant. When they were about halfway there, The Doctor turned to John again, eager for more conversation. "So you say when people stay too long around you they get hurt. Well considering I'm going to be around you for awhile, could ya tell me, so at least I know what to look out for?" It was only a partial tease.

"If you actually want to know, I guess I can tell you." The Doctor didn't say anything, but John could see the light of interest in his eyes. "I had a twin sister, but when we were seven, she got really, really sick because she stayed outside too long waiting for me to come out. She didn't.. she took more after our mum.. and she didn't heal. She died. Then my best friend as a freshman got hit by a truck because he was waiting to pick me up for classes." The Doctor gave him a sympathetic look. "Even me being born almost killed people. My own mum almost died because of me."

"What about your dad? You've talked about everyone else but him.. why?"

"Because I've never met him. Not once. Never even seen a picture. My mum still loved him.. and I think she still does. Sometimes I want to go looking for him, but then I think that it would just make things worse. I mean he's out there somewhere.. Mum used to say in some kind of paralel universe, doing the universe good.. and who am I to take him from that? He doesn't even know I exist. I kind of want it to stay that way." By now The Doctor had decided that he cared about the boy that now walked beside him, and he wanted to help.

"Well if you saw him, would you recognize him? Like would you know?"

"Yeah. With all the stories mum told me about him.. She said he'd travel with someone, he'd never be alone. She said that he'd be doing something to help someone if I ever saw him, and that he'd always be protecting someone innocent. She told me his name, but I don't think it's actually his name. Just an alias."

"And what would said alias be?"

"She said the only name he ever went by, was The Doctor." Well, said doctor froze in his tracks while his blood rushed ice cold.

"What was your mum's name?" he asked, his voice brittle as he forced himself to walk again, albeit less gracefully than before.

"Rose Tyler. Is it important?"

"No. Not at all. Now come one then.. Allons-y!" Though his voice was fast, far too fast, and he seemed to be on the verge of collapsing again.

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**So yeah. As always, thanks for reading and I'll see you again next chapter! Allons-y!"**


	5. What?

**A/N: Okay, so I had to rewrite this about fifty times to get it to a point where I could post it and not have to hide in shame. I certainly hope you like it. I'll be updating slower for the next few weeks, got a lot going on for a bit, but I'll try to update as regularly as I can. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.. if I did Metacrisis doc wouldn't have happened, nor would Doomsday have. Just saying.. **

**Warnings: Language, blood, and violence in later chapters. (This starts to pick up in the next few chapters) **

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As The Doctor stepped into the TARDIS, he felt his world spinning, and for a second he thought he was about to fall. He reached his hand out and gripped the edge of the control panel, his fingers closing so tightly around the metal bar that his knuckles turned white. Apparently his face had done so as well, because he heard the voice of John behind him, his voice pitching ever so slightly in what he could only assume was concern.

"David... You okay? You're as white as a ghost.."

"Mhmm.. yeah I'm fine.." He almost grimaced at the fact that his voice seemed to have risen about twelve octaves. He cleared his throat, as if that's what had caused it, before talking again, making sure to keep his voice even and steady. "Just having some difficulty... relocking.. onto your signal again.." He hit two more buttons before standing straight up, a triumphant laugh bubbling past his lips. The laugh wasn't genuine, he hadn't genuinely laughed in so long, but it was something he had taught himself to do, so he could pretend.

"Alright," he replied, though his eyebrows were raised in an expression describable only as slight suspicion. "Just.. don't go, ya know... passing out on me again." His face slipped into a half frown as he rubbed the back of his neck. Distinguished from the clear, easy light that he was used to in his own machine (It felt awkward to call it a TARDIS when he knew David spoke about his singularly, as if it were the only one) the light here was pale green, bathing most everything emerald hue. Add the things he could only describe as coral that attached along the walls, and he was fascinated yet spooked by the place. It was, and God forbid he were use the entirely ironic term, completely alien to him.

"That _would _be pretty inconvenient, yeah?" The words, lighthearted as they may sound, were actually forced, in an attempt to keep talking rather than freaking out, because let's be honest, he _so _did not have time to go on some life-altering, change-who-I-am-as-a-person epiphany trip right now. "Annnd... there we go. Locked on. Wherever you go, she goes. Well, wherever your ship goes she goes anyway." He patted the control panel fondly, and felt the comforting hum in the back of his head. Apparently John did too, because, he leaped about a foot in the air in surprise. Immediately, the buzzing stopped, and John looked down, his ears turning bright red in embarrassment. He should have seen that coming.

"Sorry I uhm... I just didn't realize.." He stammered through about five different apologies before The Doctor cut him off.

"No need. I should've warned you. Haven't had anyone on board for... let's just say for a really long time." _Probably since before you were born... No.. make that definitely since before you were born, _he thought gruffly. "My hospitality skills are kinda down the drain at this point." It was true. Since Rose, letting people on board hurt, so doing so was a rare occasion. He hadn't even thought to warn the youth of the mind of the TARDIS, most didn't even ask about it, simply accepted it. It hadn't even occurred to him.

"It's not your fault I should've..." He listened and watched as John closed his eyes, and was startled when he felt a consciousness brush against the TARDIS's, and by extension, his own. He shouldn't be able to do that! By now, the Time Lord supposed he should simply stop caring about what should be possible, because it didn't seem to matter much. Though a moment ago he thought he was getting his bearings on reality again, everything had restarted it's spin. It made him want to yell.. or hit something. Or both. He raised his eyebrows when John's eyes popped back open and a happy smile extended across his face. "There.. think I've apologized correctly now." As if on cue, the gentle humming of the TARDIS's consciousness returned, and unless he was imagining it, it was warmer and more content than before.

"Mkay.. you can go back to your ship alone and go back, the- my TARDIS will follow, so I can either stay here or come alone. Take your pick." He tossed over his shoulder flippantly.

"Well, considering I'm not exactly good at all this, could you come along, you seem better at it than I am.." He admitted, once again averting his eyes from The Doctor, who chuckled under his breath. Of course, the exact moment when he needed to be alone to think, someone actually wanted him around.

"Alright.. let's go." He said as he straightened out and headed for the door.

"What no 'allons-y'?" The Doctor turned toward him, a startled look etching his features. "What? I know what allons-y means.. Mum used to say it sometimes.. not so much anymore but... annnd.. I'm rambling again." There was an awkward cough from the older man, who didn't look like he was sure what to do at this point.

"So uhm.. yeah.. come on."

So one long, incredibly awkward walk on The Doctor's part, and they were standing in front of a boulder. That opened. As they walked back inside, there was a freakish feeling of deja-vu that prickled in the back of The Doctor's head, though he wasn't quite sure why. "She ready to go then?" He asked, motioning vaguely to the control panel before him.

"Should be.. now uhm.." John's hands went to the controls, and then they began moving. While his face remained unsure, his hands moved with such utter certainty, The Doctor was surprised himself. It seemed as though the young man had been flying TARDISes all his life. There was a shuddering jolt that jarred their bones, and then a rumbling that was a clear indicator that they were in flight. Time Lord he may be, but The Doctor was surprised. It didn't seem like this was different from any other TARDIS flight that he had ever-

And there it was, a staggering jolt that would have sent him flying had his hand not still been wrapped around the edge of the console. His shoulder wrenched and he gasped but otherwise just moved the muscle a few times and waited for the rumbling to stop. It was about two minutes before he did.

"That it?" He asked, breathless.

"Yeah.." John sounded equally as out of breath. "Let me.. I'll uhm.. I'll go out first.. pretty sure there's people waiting outside.." he rubbed at the back of his neck again before walking toward the door. As he pulled it open, there was a series of laughter. The Doctor took a long breath and waited. How long he waited, he couldn't be entirely sure. (Truth be told his internal clock told him it had been one minute and twenty sev- no twenty eight seconds) He could hear the sounds of laughter and, more distantly, the sound of a truck door opening and shutting repeatedly. Working up his nerve, he raised his hand and reached for the door. He was surprised to see it shaking. Him, a powerful Time Lord who had saved worlds on all different occasion, petrified at leaving this TARDIS. He pushed the lever down and stepped into the ope. He noticed several things at once.

One: He was standing on Bad Wolf Bay. The waves beat on the shore with a merciless roar that made hearing anything else difficult, and the sky was overcast, declaring rain soon. Just like it had been the day he lost her. This was enough to make his heart race and the uncomfortable prick of tears leap to behind his eyes. It brought back all the memories at once, and he forcefully had to swallow.

Two: There was a collective gasp, and he turned to see none other than Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, and Mickey the Idiot all standing around John, all hugs, laughter, smiles. They saw him, and not for the first time today, The Doctor was faced with a gripping desire to run away. He hadn't even noticed the Torchwood officers standing somewhat off in the distance, no doubt the cause of the car door sounds.

He looked at Jackie, and it was obvious much time had passed.(Not that he'd actually tell her that of course... He did value his life somewhat.) Her once blonde hair still held trace amounts of it's natural color, though it was thoroughly melded with a whitish silver. Despite the changes, she was still undoubtably Jackie. Pete had gone nearly completely bald, his eyes though bright, were tired, and he slouched forward. Mickey looked more like the Mickey the Idiot that The Doctor knew, though his eyes were tired and there were lines of age around them.

"D-Doctor?" Jackie stammered, like she dared not believe that the man before her was real. He walked closer, closing the distance to the people who had once been the closest thing to family he had ever had since he lost his own. There were quiet murmurs from everyone except John, most of them the word 'doctor'.

"It's me Jackie.." he said quietly, his voice not a whisper, but close. John stood not too far off, his mouth decidedly hanging open.

"What?" He asked, his voice squeaking. Nobody seemed to hear.

"I don't know if I should hug you or slap you right now.." Jackie said threateningly, though it was through a tearful laugh.

"Right now Jackie, I don't care." He replied quietly, and she suddenly pulled him into a rib-crushing embrace that forced the air from his lungs. Everything fell into motion then, and it all seemed natural. He shook Pete's hand, and rolled his eyes when rather than shake his hand, Mickey pulled him into a hug.

"What!?" John yelped, louder this time, yet still not loud enough for anyone appear to hear him.

"Doctor?" The Doctor heard the voice that like to have made his hearts break. He turned to see Rose standing not twenty feet away, her eyes teary. The first thing he realized was that she didn't look like a day over twenty five. Her hair was darker than her remembered, her eyes missing the fire he had seen in her so long ago.

"Rose.."

_"What!?" _John sounded so much like his father it was almost scary.

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**Whelp.. there it ish. I thought the whole 'what?' thing was pretty funny myself.. Well anyway, thank's for reading and I'll see you next chapter. Reviews are always appreciated. **


	6. Truth

**A/N: I know it's been awhile, and quite frankly I fought writers block through this chapter, so I know it's not as good as the others, but hang with me, because now action with the Daleks is on it's way. :D Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: If you haven't realized that I don't own anything, then you need to get yourself checked.**

**Warnings: Language and some blood in the next few chapters.**

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It was like The Doctor had been suckerpunched. All his breath was forced clean out of his lungs in one second as he stared at the one face he felt sure he would never see again. Rose, sweet Rose, was less than twenty feet away from him now, after years of being separated by the vast expanse of the Void.

"Rose.." he whispered again, as if he couldn't quite believe it. He then took a step forward, with her mirror his movements, a wary expression flittering across her features. They walked slowly toward each other, neither moving faster than the other. It seemed to be a mutual fear between the two that it wouldn't last, that they'd blink and it'd all be gone. It made sense for this fear to be there too, The Doctor had dreamed of this moment so many times, he thought he might wake up at any second. This continued until about a foot separated them as they just stared at each other, neither looking away. Then it broke. Suddenly and without warning they yanked each other into an embrace so tight you'd be hard pressed to put a piece of paper between them.

Rose buried her face in his chest, and he could feel her tears against his skin through his clothing as she shook. He couldn't share in the tears, he wouldn't allow himself to, although a strangled sound broke through before he murmured her name over and over again and kissed the very top of her head. He clutched her close, as if the universe would try to tear her away yet again, he didn't doubt it would, either. Neither were aware of time passing, but when they broke apart their bodies ached at the sudden change of posture. Then The Doctor said something stupid. Of course he did. He just had to. But he also had to know.

"I met him.." He jerked his head toward John, who still stood on the beach, his jaw hanging open and his eyes wide in shock.

"Almost twenty years, and that's the first thing you can say.. 'I met him'. That is so you." She teased, roughly wiping the tears from her face. The Doctor swallowed, struggling to find the right words to come next, so he just spit it out.

"He isn't your brother."

"No." She admitted, though her eyes never wavered from his. He moved on to his next question.

"He's your son."

"Yes." And that's when he saw it, a blaze of pride flashed in her eyes at the admittance. It reminded him ever so much of Nancy accepting Jamie as her son all those years ago in World War Two. He opened his mouth and closed it again as he prepared what he would say next. It was words he thought he'd never say again, and though he was pretty certain of it truthfulness, he needed Rose to confirm. Why? He wasn't sure. He just had to be positive.

"He's my son." The pause that followed was long and heavy, leaving almost a tangible feeling of wariness in the air.

"Yes." There was a long, stunned silence. "His name is Jace."

"Jace?" He said the name a few times, letting it roll of his tongue and wash through his mind. It flowed when he thought it through. Jace Tyler. Perfectly normal, though not much could be considered normal when you found out that you're a parent about twenty years too late.

"Yeah, after you." When The Doctor looked completely confused, she smiled at him. "It means 'the healer'." He gave a weak laugh, his left hand wrapping around her wrist as he looked into the warmth of the brown eyes he had missed so much, though now he noticed subtle differences. They were darker, deeper, full of something he was sure he'd never understand. As he surveyed her closer, he was shocked to realize something. He had been wrong earlier, judging how much Rose had actually aged. It had appeared about five years-ish, but now he saw that it was actually from the change in her expressions and in the way she carried herself. When she grinned the way she was at him now though, with her tongue between her teeth, she could have been nineteen again.

He noticed her eyes moving over him now, and he got a weird feeling that she was seeing and understanding more of him than she had before. It was oddly disconcerting. Was this how he made other people feel? The next words leapt from his throat without his conscious approval.

"You lied to me then.. When you said 'The baby' last time we were here." His voice carried something like hurt, with the ever so noticable feeling of something close to betrayal hidden beneath the words. He wished he could take them back as soon as he said them, especially when he saw a flash of pain spasm across Rose's face.

"I know I did.. And it's eaten me alive almost every day since.. But you were leaving, even you said that you'd never be able to come back. What was I supposed to say? 'Yeah, I'm going to have your kid but you won't ever be able to see him because you're in another universe and if you ever come back, the universe will be torn to pieces'? I couldn't let that hang over your head. I just couldn't." Her voice shook as she spoke, breaking twice, as she moved her eyes away from him, looking down at her hands.

"I know..." He whispered, before pulling her into another embrace, gentler this time. This hug was not one of crazed happiness, or of the thrill of escaping a seemingly hopeless situation. It was an embrace of understanding and forgiveness. Her face pressed against the space below his neck, and she could hear the rapid double heartbeat beneath the skin. His head was bowed so the bridge of his nose was against the top of her hairline. They broke apart, and she looked up at him. When their eyes met again, he thought he saw something like guilt in them now.

"You haven't been alone all this time have you?" Though it was a question, there was a plea in her voice that he hadn't been alone too long. He didn't deserve that, nobody did.

"Nah, you know me, I'd talk my own ear off. I've had company.. now and again." He chuckled lightly before sobering and loosening his hold on her arm. "What about you? I mean did you ever get married? I should've asked before.. I mean I shouldn't have just assumed-" Before he could get much further, she cut him off, knowing well that if he started rambling it would be about twenty minutes before she could get him quiet.

"No, I never got married or anything similar. My family helped me with th- with Jace." He noticed how she changed what she had been about to say, and opened his mouth to ask, but he got the gut feeling that it was a discussion for another time. "Worked at Torchwood. Did a _lot _of paperwork. And here's the scary part, had to pay a mortgage." The Doctor spasmed in mock horror, his eyes widening.

"Oh God, anything except a mortgage. Must have been cruel and unusual punishment." He laughed gently.

"Oh it was absolute hell on Earth." She teased, tapping his chest with her left hand. The Doctor naturally had something to say in return, but anything he could have said in reply was drowned out by Jace, who's voice were shaky and confused, as if he was in a daze.

"Mum?" Rose's hands pulled away from The Doctor's, and she moved away, walking quickly to wrap her son into a swift hug. The Time Lord turned on his heel, watching quietly. Whilst his face remained calm, his hands shoved into his pockets, his mind was tossing and turning with a mixture of so many thoughts and emotions it threatened to overwhelm him. He would have liked to have listened into the conversation that was now starting, but he was pulled away by Jackie and Mickey.

"Did Jace tell you why we need you here?" Mickey's voice broke through his reverie. He shook his head and turned to answer him.

"He said something about Daleks coming through the walls of the universe from the Void or something."

"Or something? Guess you're same as always Doctor, talk a lot, listen a little." Mickey chuckled, looking at the ground.

"Oi! I was a little bit distracted by the whole 'My dad's a guy called The Doctor and my mum's name is Rose Tyler' thing, if ya see where I'm going with this." Mickey took a step back and put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Hey.. calm down. Just joking..But yeah, it's the Daleks. And it Daleks are coming through, then the Cybermen should be coming right after..." He had planned to say something else, but the Time Lord's eyes were already elsewhere, scanning over Jace with an insatiable curiosity. Now that he was actually looking, he saw some noticable similarities between Jace and himself and Rose. The warm brown eyes definitely came from Rose, but the brown hair flecked with lighter shades at the tips bore striking resemblance to his own mussed up style. He was scrawny as a stick, though his smile matched his mother's nearly perfectly. "He's just like you, ya know." Mickey said gently, his voice calm and quiet, though The Doctor's head snapped to look at him at just about the speed of light. "First thing he ever did was glare at me." That pulled a chuckle out of the Time Lord, who looked toward the sky, as if he couldn't believe the world around him.

Nobody had remembered that in the rush of reunion and happiness, or in Jace's case, confusion, Dalek's were popping up through the walls of the universe right and left. They were quickly reminded when there was a call from the Torchwood vehicles a few yards away, calling to them and drawing their attention.

"Here we go.." The Doctor muttered as he took off at a jog toward the Jeeps.

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**Yeah.. anways... Thanks for reading, and reviews are much appreciated. They're like cookies. **


	7. Catching up Almost

**A/N: Hey, so this chapter is a little bit shorter than the others, more of a filler chapter really. I also want to apologize if you read the previous chapter before. In the last few lines my wording was horrible and it made it seem like Daleks were popping up all over the beach. I fixed it as soon as I realized my mistake, and I apologize for any confusion.**

*Insert humorous disclaimer here*

Warnings: Language will really pick up next chapter as well as some blood. Nothing too horrible though. 

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Rose drove, her fingers tapping nervously on the steering wheel whilst The Doctor sat in the passenger seat, looking uncomfortable and slightly out of place. Jace sat in the backseat, seated between Mickey and a young man in a Torchwood uniform. The echo of rain beat down on the windows, carving paths down the glass.

The Doctor had suggested taking the TARDIS back to Torchwood, but both Jace and Rose had pointed out that the faster the Dalek's realized who he was, the more danger they would all be in. Outnumbered and feeling foolish, he had agreed, and they had all piled into the Torchwood Jeep. They all were yet to say anything, and an awkward silence filled the car. The Time Lord who sat in the passenger seat didn't do well in awkward silences, he never had, especially since they were mostly awkward because he was there.

He opened his mouth to say something a few times, but before he could say anything, he realized how it would only make things worse and closed it again. It was difficult sitting there and not saying anything, mainly because he had so many questions and so many things he wanted to know. He knew he'd have to hold his ground and ask them eventually, but in a car on the way to fight Dalek's in a universe he shouldn't be able to be in with the girl he thought he lost and the son he never knew he had _and _the guy who had at one time been said girl's boyfriend until he came along didn't seem like the optimal place to conduct an interview.

Deciding to focus on the rain, The Doctor turned toward the outside and watched the Norwegian terrain pass by in silence. He raised a finger and traced the paths of water with his forefinger, boredly predicting the next path that would be created by the seemingly endless stream of water. Admittedly, he cheated almost every time, viewing ahead in the time lines and 'predicting' the most likely of them. Though this was slightly calming, it didn't do the least bit to calm his inner turmoil. The silence was then loudly broken by Jace, who threw a pen at the back of his father's head.

"Could you calm the hell down? Blimey, you're hyperactive. Least I know how to keep my thoughts hidden. You're just all over the place, and quite frankly you're so confused, it's affecting me as well. I just spent the past five minutes wondering exactly where we were going, even though I know perfectly well!" His voice wasn't angry, or even annoyed really, just something close to terrified uncertainty. If one were to look at his body language, they would see every muscle in his body was tense, and his eyes flicked everywhere at once.

"Sorry I . . . I just haven't had to in so long . . . " The Doctor stammered, quickly throwing up every mental barrier he could think of around his mind. As soon as this action was completed, Jace's body language transformed. His muscles loosened and his eyes brightened slightly as he slumped backwards against the seat.

"No. Don't apologize. Sometimes I just can't help the empathy. My erm.. Curiosity gets the better of me and I don't even realize I'm doing it." He admitted with a sheepish smile, looking down. Rose tore her eyes away from the road for a second, flicking them between the two, who wouldn't even look at each other. She then returned her eyes to the road ahead.

"This is going to be a long ride.." Mickey muttered from the backseat.

* * *

And a long ride it had been. It had seemed like an impossible amount of time had passed in that little Jeep as it traveled from Bad Wolf Bay to Canary Wharf. The Doctor frowned, he obviously did _not _want to be here, but they had been unable to change the location of Torchwood, so they had been forced to stay in the Torchwood Tower, he just allowed himself to go numb and followed. Mickey led the way with Rose and Jace close behind. He followed closely, but clearly letting them lead. He followed them through the doors, across the polished tile of the entryway, all the way to the lift. He stood still through the lift ride, keeping his hyperactivity as low as he could.

When the lift stopped however, he needn't act subdued. He went stone still, and his very hearts like to have stopped within his chest.

It was the Ghost Shift room.

Desks filled what had once been the space in front of the hole in the universe, but the levers that controlled the shifts were still there, admittedly cased in plexiglass with a keyboard locking mechanism on each one, but they were there. The walls were still stark white, the smell still clinical, but never mind that. The mere sight of this place caused a physical pain to flare up within his chest. Rose, Mickey, and Jace stopped and turned to look at him, but neither of the men could meet his gaze. Never before had they seen eyes so tortured, in so much pain.

Only Rose could hold his gaze, her eyes flashing with a similar emotion, and though not as intense, it was just as deep. "Doctor?" She said quietly, stepping forward, closer to him, though his eyes were locked on the wall he had stood at for a seemingly endless amount of time after Rose was brought into the parallel world. "Doctor." She repeated, laying her hand on his forearm, and his eyes snapped to her. She smiled, it was a weak smile, where her lips pulled tightly, turning pale, not her usual tongue between her teeth smile. "It's all right. You're here. I'm right here. You got back, we're here. You got back."

"Oi! I helped!" Jace shot playfully over his mother's shoulder, but the instant he had made the joke he wished he hadn't. He frowned. "Okay, this is the part where I walk away and try to get an hour or so of sleep, right? Right." He turned on his heel and made his way through a doorway, his shoulders slumping in fatigue as he went.

Meanwhile, The Doctor's hand had moved to Rose's, his fingers linking through hers gently, his nerves calming slightly at the contact. He smiled as she repeated the reassuring phrases. He nodded, swallowing harshly, before allowing himself to be led into an office. He was determined to keep his mouth shut until he got the entire situation.

"Okay.. We have Dalek's coming through the walls of the universe, and we're almost positive that the Cybermen are next-" Before she could finish, a woman behind a desk not too far away chimed in,

"Actually, we had a Cyberman come through a breach about an hour ago on the outskirts of London."

"Brilliant..." The Doctor muttered to himself, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just bloody brilliant." He sighed, beginning to pace along a wall, a hand on his neck as he thought. "Well how about . . . ?"

Almost five hours passed, with The Doctor, Mickey, Rose, and sometimes others chiming in, tossing out ideas for any way to stop or reseal the universe. For each idea given, there were countless arguments or objections as to why said idea wouldn't work. It was tedious, and by the time they had even considered stopping for a few minutes to rest and think, the sun was close to sinking past the horizon.

Mickey was the first to leave. He stood up and yawned, unable to help himself, and gave a gentle apology. He had his own family to return to, to give some sort of news to. Rose had nodded in understanding as he left, leaving her and the Time Lord alone. Said Time Lord was burning with questions he wanted to ask now that they had a fragile sort of privacy. He wanted to ask about why it seemed Rose hadn't aged. He wanted to ask about Jace and how he had grown up, and about how Rose had been, he wanted to know everything he possibly could know. He should have known better.

As usual, the universe would give him no such kindness. As he opened his mouth to ask one of the questions, he heard a sound that just about stopped his hearts. It was unmistakably Jace, coming from a room not too far away. The acoustics of the building made the noise echo and carry around. The mere sound almost made tears spring to The Doctor's eyes, it was so heartbreaking.

It was screaming. It was agonized pleas for something to stop. It was claims that he hadn't done it. It was nothing less than pure agony with a voice.

Jace was screaming, begging for help, begging for mercy.

He was screaming.

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**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as I said before it's kind of just a filler chapter, nothing major happened, but if you couldn't tell by that last few sentences stuff is about to pick up. Might even get a little timey wimey, possibly even a little wibbly wobbly. Ciao! **


	8. Night Terrors

**A/N: So, It's been awhile, again I blame my newfound addiction to Torchwood... Children of Earth upset me so freaking much! Anyway, this chapter may not seem like anything more than a filler chapter, but it gives an opening into something that will become important later. Maybe. Haven't decided yet. :D**

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, sorry. You caught me, although I do like to check all over my house daily just in case there's a fob watch hiding somewhere. 

* * *

A surge of panic overtook The Doctor as he lunged to his feet at the sound of the yelling that grew ever more desperate with every piercing yell. In a surge of paternal instinct he was running for the door, his feet seemed determined to grow wings as he reached the door and took a step into the hallway. It was as he tossed his head in either direction of the corridor to determine more accurately where exactly Jace was calling out from that he realized something.

Not even one person had followed, not one had even stood up, with the exception of Rose, who stood in the doorway of her office, a pained expression written under carefully controlled features. A few had jumped in momentary surprise, but after that things had resumed the same way they had been before. As there was a momentary lapse in the terrified cries of the young man, he whirled to face the room head on, both confusion and rage burning deeply within him as he approached Rose, his very blood surging with the desire, no the _need_, to make whatever was happening to the boy stop. Were sounds of such complete and utter misery so common here that nobody even noticed?

"Why is everybody ignoring this?" He demanded in a voice so loud that the few office workers who stood in the immediate vicinity of him leapt and whirled to face him in shock. "Why does nobody care that something is obviously wrong? He's . . . He's . . . " But he was at a loss as to what exactly Jace was. Rose walked closer to him, the expression of upset ever more prominent as she chewed visibly on the inside of her cheek.

"Nobody is reacting," she started, meeting his gaze with the intensity that she had always held it with, "Because they've heard it before. It's not easy to listen to, but they have to cope to do their job, just like Jace does." She spoke with a certainty he knew would be near impossible to fake, which led him to believe that there was definitely something else going on that he didn't know. He looked to her, his eyes searching hers for the answer.

"What's wrong with him? What's happening?" His voice wavered ever so much despite his wishes, and he himself almost shook with the need to know the answer. He saw the now near agonized expression that Rose bore transform into something nothing more than sad as she seemed to search for the right words. Her mouth opened, then closed again, then opened as she answered.

"He's sleeping." Utter shock radiated from the Time Lord as he absorbed that information. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. He found his voice, sort of.

_"What?!" _he croaked, his angry body language and tone deteriorating into nothing more than straight up shock as he waited for the laugh, for the smile with tongue poked between the teeth, the _ha-ha-we-fooled-you _moment he prayed was coming. Yeah, like the universe ever played jokes on him that weren't cruel. Rose nodded and walked past him, into the hallway where she took a right.

"All his life he's had horrible nightmares- rather, night terrors. Well not his whole life, but starting when he was about nine years old or so. Almost always the same one, and almost every time leaves him crying out like this." Her voice trembled as she explained, still walking, and he followed her.

"What are they about?" He asked, but either she didn't hear him or was ignoring him as she paused by a door that was held slightly ajar and gently pushed it open.

It resembled a military bunker, dark colored walls and floors contrasted with stark white bunk-like beds that were covered with meticulously folded linens. There were no decorations, and the only source of light were the dim bedside lamps stationed between every three beds. It was completely silent now, so when the strangled cry of Jace once again invaded his consciousness he jumped, startled. "

"No!... No _please!... _I didn't!... I swear I didn't!...God.. No...I didn't _do _this!" The heartbreaking laments struck The Doctor to his very core, and he turned to look at the youth, who now that he was looking, was easily spotted.

He was on a bed in the far corner, bits of his brown mop of hair sticking to his forehead for the sweat that almost completely covered him, and he curled up on himself on his side. His fingers clutched at the sheet-like bedspread in desperation as his shoulders shook with a violent intensity. Tears streamed freely down his cheeks as he endured what the Time Lord could only assume was an absolutely horrific nightmare. His cries quieted for a moment again, though quiet sounds escaped between his teeth, which were clenched tightly.

"What does he dream about Rose?" He asked quietly, his need to know what was going on was becoming overwhelming. Rose walked a few feet closer to her son- _their son, _he forcefully reminded himself, and just the mere thought made unprecedented pride flare up in his chest- before she turned and looked at him, tears brimming in her eyes.

"He only ever told me once, he was half hysterical." She swallowed, then continued. "He just kept repeating 'It was burning, they were burning.' After that, he never would tell me about the dreams. After awhile, I stopped asking."

"Rose, I-" Whatever he had planned to say was quickly drowned out by a loud voice from just behind them.

"Rose Tyler," The voice grumbled, though any fool could hear it was all in a joke, "I thought I told you no work for a few days. I know you're concerned, but I promised you I'd keep Jace safe, and I meant it. You shouldn't be here." The Doctor whirled to see the speaker, and saw a man in his early to mid-thirties, dressed in military style pants and a pale grey t-shit. Everything from his boots to his buzz cut brown hair screamed the fact that this was someone with authority. His voice was low and laced with a decidedly Scottish accent. Rose smiled weakly.

"You're here to wake him then, aren't you?" She asked, her voice quiet and radiating with concern.

"Yeah, I am, but I also figured if you were going to disobey direct orders, you'd be with your boy, and I want to check your wound."

"Wound? Rose, what happened?" The Time Lord felt somewhat awkward standing in the room with two people who were obviously friends of some sort, and with a cringing Jace a few feet away, but he figured now was as good a time as any to speak up. She stepped closer to him and shrugged, though now that he was looking, he saw a partial wince as the muscles moved.

"Nothing, just a run in with the Sontarans not too long ago," she explained, though she sounded distracted.

"After disobeying direct orders to stay put.." The man chimed in, stepping toward Jace with careful, measured steps- like he needed to focus to move closer.

"Ah Ian, but where's the fun in following directions?" It was a weak attempt at a tease, and everyone in the room knew it. The man, now named as Ian, reached toward Jace and lay a hand on his shivering left shoulder. This had no visible effect, so he shook the shoulder gruffly, accompanying the motion with a few words.

Jace shot bolt upright, a terrified cry breaking past his lips. He looked around, his eyes wide in terror as he struggled to remember where he was and what he was doing. Five seconds, ten, fifteen. At almost the twenty second mark, he blinked, roughly pushed the tears off his cheeks with the heel of his hand and moved to stand up. His eyes moved to the ground, before flicking upwards to Ian, much like a dog desperate for praise but expecting a kick.

"Jace, you're team is headed for Hertford, we have reports of two Daleks on the outskirts." His voice was full of command and sympathy, and Jace nodded, standing to leave, when his eyes fell on Rose and The Doctor.

"Mum? Dav- Doctor?" His hand moved to rub subconsciously on the back of his neck. He opened his mouth to say something, but it got lost with a call of 'Jace get your skinny arse out here!' from the hallway. "Gotta go." He mumbled quietly before just about running toward the door. To be honest, the Doctor was just about in overload, struggling to keep up. It was bewildering beyond the point of confusion.  
"Never seen the almighty Time Lord speechless before. Quick, someone get a camera!" Rose joked, poking him in the shoulder and giving him _that _smile, the smile she saved for him.

"How do you _do _that?" He asked, the way she appeared to change emotions so quickly was odd, and quite frankly a little bit disorienting.

"You ought to know. Live a lot of years, you start to learn things, I'm also in more control of myself now. People say it can be confusing, and don't I know it. Traveled with you long enough."

"I... I do that?" He asked, like he had never heard of such a thing before.

"Yeah, it's very dizzying, but I'm thankful for it, guess a few good things came out of almost killing myself."

"What?" He asked, utterly bewildered now.

"Bad Wolf." She replied simply.

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**Thank you for reading, as always, reviews are appreciated so much there are no words, just to point that out. (I know you probably hate me, but I'm a shameless review junkie.) *hands all readers a double chocolate chip cookie***


	9. Good NewsBad News

**A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been awhile. Sorry. *Offers an apology cookie* Am I forgiven? Anyway there is some fluffy Rose/Ten moments in this one, as well as some more information about what's happened in the past 20 years. So this should be fun.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. 

* * *

Before he could even ask for an explanation, he was on the move again, speed walking to keep up with Ian's longer strides. He silently noted that in his prolonged absence Rose had become just as wired as he used to be, never staying still for more than a few seconds. He blinked and began moving after her, catching up quickly, making her the focus of his gaze.

"Care to elaborate?" He asked, the smile he hasn't smiled in so long played out along his features. She looked toward him, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face, her eyes alight as she began to explain.

"Well.. I guess you've noticed the obvious, that I haven't aged, while everyone else has?" As he nodded his affirmation, she continued. "Well, it was as big a shock for me as it probably was for you." She paused in her tale to turn left as the corridor reached an intersection before adding, "and Jack, for that matter." His eyebrows raised in surprise, and she continued before he can ask. "I don't know if you know or not, but knowing you, you probably do, but Jace has- _had _a twin sister." She swallowed roughly, clearly forcing back a wave of emotion. "Well when they were born, she was born first, easily. Well, as easy as I suppose it can go. Jace was difficult, and I can't say I was surprised, he took after his father from the get-go." She laughed a laugh so genuine it made him feel warm all over, and Ian flicked his eyes toward them, obviously not used to laughter from Rose. "Having him almost killed me."

"He really did take after me then." He commented, his voice a fusion of humor and regret, and she turned to him.

"I didn't mean _that._" She admonished, stopping her pace and placing her hand on his forearm. "I'll never think that, so don't you." He just nodded as she turned and continued walking. "The point I was trying to make was that just a few seconds after he was born they had Mum, Dad, and Mickey in the room saying goodbye because I was bleeding out and there was nothing they could do about it. I was dying." She noticed his cringe, so she quickly continued on to the next bit of the story. "I said goodbye to Mum and Dad, threatened then said goodbye to Mickey. Barely had time to name Jace and Jessie." A tight lipped smile and a light laugh as she paused and glanced at him. "And then I died."

"You.. Died?"

"Don't sound so shocked, you've done it yourself." She teased, and he couldn't help but smile. There she was, good old Rose, all cheeky smiles and laughter, something he never thought he'd see again. "I woke up about thirty minutes later. Scared the hell out of Ian here." As she said that, she jerked his head in his general direction and the medic chuckled.

"Scared Ian? How?"

"Well, considering their parentage, they couldn't exactly be born in a regular hospital without questions being asked.." She replied as if it were obvious. When he thought about it now, it made sense, and he was surprised he didn't think about that before. "I didn't know what to think, I didn't know if it was normal, maybe it had something to do with Time Lord regeneration or something, I had no idea if maybe that's just what happened when Time Lord babies were born, maybe it was normal. Wasn't 'till later that I realized it had nothing to do with that. I was on my way home from work when I stopped to get oatmeal for Jace the next morning, left the store, and some imbecile was going about 90 in the parking lot. Hit me straight on. Doctors said I should've died, the paramedics said I _did _die. I woke up not an hour later, perfectly fine."

"So that's what you meant by Jack being surprised." He said aloud, putting the pieces together easily in his head. Now that he thought about it, being around Rose felt different, odd, off. He had earlier assumed that it was just because he hadn't seen her in so long, and had let the fact that finally they were _together again_ take over. It was similar feeling to what he felt when around a certain former-con man, but not exactly the same. When Jack was around, it was uncomfortable, difficult, it was instinct that it _shouldn't be that way. _With Rose it was more like unfamiliarity rather than discomfort.. Now that he thought about it.. Jace..

"Jace is the same way," She said, as if she had been reading his mind, and once again, when he thought back he remembered feeling the familiar feeling of unfamiliarity. That got him thinking about Jace all over again.

It was then that it really hit. Jace was his son. He had a son. He and _Rose _had a son. He had made it back, rather, he had been delivered back. Rose was right here in front of him, just about a foot ahead of him, something he never thought he'd see again, never feel again. He stopped dead in his tracks, a ridiculous smile spreading across his face. Rose stopped ahead of him and looked back, raising her eyebrows and smiling back.

"What?" She asked, stepping back toward him. Her hand reached for his, and at the contact his eyes moved from her face to their now linked fingers, then back up at her.

"It's really real.. You're really here, right in front of me. I just... I never thought I'd see you again.. Never though.. On the beach, twenty years ago.. I never got to finish Rose, I got cut off. I never got to say-" But his ramblings were quickly cut off by her lips against his. It occurred to him for a second that this was their first real kiss, not prompted by the need to save a life, not under any possession, but all coherent thought was promptly erased as the kiss depended and nothing else in the universe existed for that moment. It lasted seconds, but it felt like it lasted hours. Rose broke the kiss, needing to breathe, and he blinked, and pressed a gentler kiss to her cheek, before whispering in her ear, his lips so close the brushed against her skin, "I love you, Rose Tyler." She smiled and took a step back.

"Quite right, too." He laughed lightly at that, keeping their fingers linked together as they continued walking. He let Rose lead, considering Ian had vanished, and only released his hold on her hand when they reached where they were obviously going. "Ah, here we are." She murmured as they reached a door and entered the a large room labeled on the outside as Med Bay. Ian had shrugged his jacket off and tossed it over onto a chair that resided in front of a computer monitor that bore the Torchwood symbol and retreated into a closet, presumably to get supplies, and Rose walked to sit on a hospital bed that looked like an uncomfortable metal lawn chair.

"Just have to get some antibiotics in my system, 's about the only thing I can do, most medicines make me sick now."

Ian returned, moving to to the left hand side of the table, pressing a few buttons on the keypad and the chair rose so that he wouldn't have to bend over to do what he needed to do. He nodded to Rose, who shed the black vest she wore, which as she removed turned out to be an advanced form of a Kevlar-like material, and raised her shirt up about halfway. At Ian's nearly silent request, she rolled onto her side, and the Doctor just hoped that the amount of bandage on her side was excessive, because if it wasn't, he was baffled as to how she could even walk without being in agony. When the medic removed the bandages, the emotion he felt was overwhelming.

Stretching from about the top of her ribs almost to her hip was a large gash. It looked like it had healed considerably, though it was obviously quite deep. The Doctor's jaw clenched as he fought back extremely violent thoughts toward whatever- or whoever- had done this. Rose must have noticed the clenching of his jaw, because she smiled gently.

"You can leave if you don't want to see, Doctor." She said quietly as he stood at the side of the table, recapturing her hand in his. He shook his head 'no' and smiled as Ian took out a set of about six hypodermic needles.

"Want any numbing meds Rose?" He asked.

"Do I ever take any numbing meds?" She countered.

"No, and that's what concerns me." He said quietly, more under his breath than anything. "Want a quip about feeling pressure and a prick?" He asked jokingly.

"Nah, 'M good, thanks for offering though." Despite her easygoing manner, it was lost on neither of the two men that the second the needle pierced the wound that her entire body tensed and her teeth ground together. In not three minutes it was done and fresh bandages were being placed over the gash. Not even five minutes later and Rose was on her feet again, ready to go, and he couldn't blame her, he was just as eager for the Daleks and the Cybermen to cease to exist.

"Yeah?" Rose answered as she picked up her phone, and he saw he pale. He knew something was wrong, but he didn't even have to ask. After two quick 'OK's Rose hung up and looked toward him. She then proceeded to give him probably the worst news of the day.

"The Dalek's and the Cybermen seem to be working together. Four people are dead."

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**Dun, dun. DUNNNN. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. Time for me to shamelessly self promote. I have another Doctor Who story in the works, called Losing Touch. If you would check it out, I'd be your bestest friend ever. Thank you for reading, and if you review, you get a gooey chocolate chip cookie! (Please limit cookies to two per person as there is a limited supply) Thank you and see you next chapter!**


	10. Tensions

**A/N: So here's my first chapter from Jace's POV, complete with drama and issues with authority.**

Disclaimer: Seriously? If you haven't figured out the obvious, that I don't own Doctor Who, then you need to get yourself checked. 

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Jace Tyler leaned forward in a metal chair, a cloth in one hand and a tube of burn ointment on the other, along with various other non-drastic medical equipment piled on the table to his left. His hands moved in well practiced motions as he bandaged the wrist of one of the men on his team. There was an unspoken tension between the two, as well as with the group of about six other people around them, all with various minor injuries except him. Of course he had been the one to escape without a scratch.. Well... Actually.. He just came out _looking _like he hadn't received a scratch. One of the benefits of being a freak, he assumed.

There was a definitive silence among the team members, mainly due to the fact that out of four people that had died, two had been on their team. He pinned the bandages firmly over the man's wrist, watching him wince and he apologized softly, before standing and looking to see if he could help at all. Everyone was banged and bruised up some way, and they all looked like they could sleep for about a month and be content, mainly due to the fact that none of them had gotten hardly any sleep in about three days because of the Daleks. Everyone was exausted.. Except for him. Another freak trait of his seemed to be that he rarely slept as much as normal people- humans- did. He was still tired though, the chase after the Daleks having been a brutal one, and he always was a little bit tied when he-

"Tyler!" A voice roared, an older man, dressed in the same grayscale camo that they all wore, yelled the surname through the small room, his voice so heated it blistered the air. Jace put on his cheeky attitude that he saved just for his commanding officer and sauntered up, looking at the man with nothing more than false contrite confusion. "You're on suspension from field work for two days." The superior growled angrily, glaring at Jace, who was obviously ranked below him and looked positively furious now.

"Two days? With Daleks and Cybermen coming through the walls of the universe every five minutes? I have a team to lead and we're losing our hold on the situation as it is!" He argued, carrying a silent type of power. Somehow, even though he was subordinate and younger, he maintained control of the conversation to an extent. The whole room fell into an even more complete silence, not even a hitched breath could be heard as the two very alpha-like personalities clashed.

"You're lucky it's not two weeks! What you did was so incredibly reckless and it put other people in danger!"

"The only danger I noticed was to myself!" He objected angrily. "You know I wouldn't put a member of my team in danger, you know that better than anyone." His voice was quiet, steady, and full of something undefinable by words.

"I think dropping your weapon, ordering your men not to fire, and approaching a raving Dalek poses a danger to your men." The older man countered, still keeping his heated gaze on the boy, who was clearly not the least bit intimidated.

"We didn't know it was mad yet! It was one of the first ones who wasn't screaming! I had to try, I couldn't just kill it!"

"Funny, seems like you of all people would be chomping at the bit to destroy these things, based on stories from your own mum, they're killers." A challenge lit up in the superior's eyes, and it was evenly matched by Jace, who drew himself to full height, taking a breath to steady himself and keep his temper.

"Obviously you haven't been paying attention to the stories yourself, because I remember a particular one where a dying Dalek that was going mad changed. That particular Dalek's final act was to destroy itself." He stepped forward, unbridled rage heating the air. "I know a hell of a lot more about these things than you do, and if you don't remember I've lost people to these things. I want them dead just as much as you do, believe me, probably more, but I will not kill them without giving them a chance."

"They won't change, they're bloody mad!"

"I don't care! As long as they're alive, I'm going to try. Suspend me if you want, but whether you like it or not, so far I've been your biggest asset in this war. And sure, The Doctor got here, and sure he can help, but you're a fool if you think this is anywhere near over. Think about it this way: Daleks were born and trained to be killers, they do what they were always supposed to do. I was born and trained with the knowledge of offering one chance but never another."

"Seems to me that you should care, what with two of your men dead, because of you." That almost became his undoing. It took every bit of willpower to not turn back, to not lunge right at the man in his absolute fury.

"I'm trying very, very hard right now to keep my temper in line, very, very hard. And you're very, very lucky that I'm good at that, because if I didn't things would get mighty ugly in a hurry. Nothing could have been done to save those men, and they are dead because of their own actions, because _they _broke the chain of command and went out on their own when they were ordered not to. So go on, say that they're dead because of me if you wish, but there's not a soul in this building that would believe you. Everybody knew those two, and while they were good men who did their job well most of the time and when they did they did it well, they were well known for breaking the rules and doing things their own way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have people depending on me to do my job so they can do theirs as well as telling two families that their sons are dead without being able to tell them why." And with that he turned on his heels, storming back toward the group of men he had come from.

His hands gripped at the edge of a table, holding so tight his knuckles turned white as he shook in positive rage. One of his own men even took a step back from him nervously, it wasn't often that Jace got worked into such a frenzy, and this was certainly not the day to incite him.

He stood there, for how long he wasn't sure, trembling and grinding his teeth in anger and guilt. He knew that nothing could have been done to save the two men, they were stubborn and reckless, but he still felt extremely responsible. They were on his team and he should've kept them safe, that was his job right? He stood there, still and silent long after the room cleared out. He jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his back. He turned and saw Logan, one of his best friends, standing there with a sympathetic smile.

"Heard Donovan put you through hell. Thought I'd come get you before you go all psychotic." Jace smiled a bit at that, straightening out and fixing his shirt.

"Yeah, something like that." Logan pushed his shoulder, shoving him toward the door.

"C'mon you, we have work to do." And with that they set off into the hallways, to give two sets of families bad news and to try to regain a foothold in a battle that was already costing lives.

* * *

**There ya goes. **


End file.
